Jamie Sale: class act
Ottavio Cinquanta :The decision
will not be overturned
Tracy Wilson:Judges want things
changed as much as anyone.
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Judging the Judges
-- Feb. 14th 2002
(Continued from main...)
The story is nothing new for the sport of ice skating. Talk of hidden deals
and pre-event fixes have been going on for decades, and the only thing
surprising is the fact that it took this long to come to a boil. The solution
is easy to say, simply put the judging needs an overhaul to the system,
the judges need to be protected from outside influences, and the judges
themselves need to keep out of the practice sessions. Since the head of
the French Olympic team has admitted that there was some pressure placed
on the French judge to favor the Russians, this incident is sure to be
a hotbed of debate for some time to come.
Skate-gate
So what have we really got here in
what has been loosely named "Skate-gate"? We have a clear flouting of the
rules by some judges who obviously ignored their own guidelines to serve
certain agendas. We have the head of the ISU desperately wanting to sweep
this mess under the proverbial carpet like many before it, we have a huge
population of Olympic viewers around the world that are astounded that
a flawed performance can win out over a perfect one, and lastly we have
a Canadian skating couple that although have been wronged are gaining in
popularity by the second in the wake of the event. In the 3 short days
since their competition they've appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno,
on Larry King Live, and they've done a special on-stage appearance with
band "The Barenaked Ladies" at an Olympic medals ceremony. This is looking
to be the best thing that could have happened to the unwitting duo.
Meanwhile, regarding the sad state
of skating judges, former champion Canadian skater Tracy Wilson said in
a recent interview that "the judges themselves want things changed as much
as anyone." If that's true, one wonders why the judges themselves have
not prevented this sort of thing from happening by doing things such as
reporting any outside pressure, and assigning marks and medals to the skaters
that obviously deserve them.
One possible part of the remedy
might also be to keep judges out of the skater's practice sessions where
allegations of pre-judging and schmoozing with coaches are said to typically
take place. Another would be to begin dismissing all judges that are found
to be exhibiting questionable conduct or judging practices. Some people
have even suggested a paid judging system to keep things on a more professional
level. But whatever the final action taken, here's hoping that the outcome
sends a strong message to young skaters everywhere that their future performances
will be judged fairly, because if not the sport is in deep trouble for
it's future.
W.B. "CD" Smith is a staff
writer for the Winnipeg Pages dot com.
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